Chapter 50

"He's dead. I beat him for information regarding Vendov's war plans. He said that Dewsbury is Vendov's next stop. He had no more information no matter how much I hurt him, so I killed him."

"Where is his body?" The queen asked.

"Disposed of it already. I assumed you didn't want it to start smelling up the castle."

"How considerate, Zander! You finally understand the importance of our values here."

Charles, Queen Lapis, Orion, and the head guard sat around me. Charles and the queen were sipping tea.

"Where'd you did you dispose of it?" The head guard stroked his tiny, black hairs growing out of his chin.

"I left late last night and tossed it in the woods. Figured the crows could make a meal of it."

The guards raised a slick eyebrow.

"The guards at the gate didn't report anyone leaving last night. Especially not you with a body."

"Went through the long, back way. I didn't want to disturb anyone."

"Sounded like he was pretty useless anyway." Charles added.

"Thank you for taking initiative and dealing with that incident. Naporia thanks you." The queen said to me.

Orion remained quiet.

I gave a small not in acceptance of her appreciation.

"You have a lot you could learn from Zander, don't you? See how he handled the situation well without pestering me?" The queen said to the head guard. He gritted his teeth.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Now, since we're passed that. We need to decide what's next. Orion, I have heard this is your area of expertise."

Orion's eyes rose to her eye level.

"Yes. Well. If Dewsbury is next, Vendov will have entire control of the sea. Darlington and Dewsbury are close allies. If Dewsbury is to succumb to Vendov, I believe Darlington will quickly follow." Orion explained.

"So what do we do? Do we warn Dewsbury?" Charles asked.

"I'm sure they know what's coming based off Vendov's current patterns. Our best bet is to do everything we can to ensure they do not join Vendov's empire."

Orion pulled out a map of all the kingdoms.

"This is our current positions. Belmonte and Naporia is what we have on our side. Salkon, and Mullis Islands are allies to him.  He's taken Lafayette. We have brought soldiers from aLafayette successfully and are training to be soldiers. Belmonte has also had plenty of soldiers to join. Do you think Naporian citizens would want to fight?"

"Oh. Would that be necessary?" The queen asked.

"The more help we get, the better our odds."

"I have guards that have trained their whole lives to fight, aren't they enough? I don't want to worry my people unless I have to."

"I understand that, but have you considered that maybe they'd want to fight for their home to be safe? I'm sure many Naporians are proud of their kingdom." Orion explained.

"That's true, Queen Mavis did not expect Belmonte commoners to join. But they rallied and are being trained to fight as we speak." I said.

"At dinner last night, the nobleman seemed to agree. Even Sir Edgar. The one with the stuffy hat." Charles said.

"Perhaps you all are right. I will request for soldiers to join on Naporia's behalf. They will be fantastic soldiers compared to the other commoners." Orion said.

"Great. They can go to Belmonte for training."

"Perhaps Johnny would like to come here. Her sister lives in Naporia." Charles suggested.

"Alright. That's fine, too. We need to get word to her somehow. Then we need to find a way to Dewsbury." Orion said, pushing his way out his seat.

"Dewsbury is a much farther journey than Naporia. We should be well rested before we depart." Charles said.

"We're wasting time here. I'm going to pack my things." Orion said.

The rest of the table split up and left the room. I caught up to Orion on the way to his room.

"Hey."

"Hey." He said in a short voice, he didn't look at me.

"You're upset with me?"

Orion sighed.

"Not here."

I followed him into his room. He examined the hallway and shut the door. His room had clothes scattered around it. He had a window open, allowing fresh air to enter.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Orion said.

"Of course I did."

"Don't try to lie to me."

I sighed.

"I asked you to trust me. Please do so. He is gone. He will not be seen again. That is the truth."

"Zander, lying to the queen is a terrible idea. She is our ally. What if that soldier goes back and tells them our secrets?"

"He won't!"

A flash of a new thought struck Orion.

"Do you know him? Is that why you are protecting him?"

"No. I... Zander. I'm begging you. Please, please drop this. You can trust me, I've never led you astray. Trust my judgement, and please don't tell anyone."

Orion sighed and took a moment to study me.

"Alright. I hope you know what you're doing."Orion  threw some clothes together and formed a pack.

"Dewsbury is going to be a long trip. Pack well, the cold weather is beginning to set in. Plus, we're going to have to go through Lafayette, which is essentially Vendov's summer home."

"Perhaps we could recruit more loyalists from Lafayette."

"I think we should just keep our heads down and hope no one recognizes us." Orion said firmly.

I left Orion and went to my room, feeling a little better about Carlo. I had hoped he made it somewhere far from there. Somewhere safe. He deserved safe. I couldn't think about the awful alternatives. If I did, I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. It would eat away at me.

I began packing for our next journey when I heard a knock on the door.

I opened the door to find Galen. They were dressed in a whispy, nightgownlike, dress. Their hair was twisted up in braids.

"Hello, Galen. I'm glad you're here." I opened the door, extending the invite for me to enter.

"I wanted to apologize. For how I have been acting these couple weeks." I said to them.

"It's not your fault. You were put under a horrendous potion that typically kills people."

"I wanted to thank you as well. For finding a cure. For saving me."

"I am happy I could help. I am happy you managed to summon the dragon when needed, but I do think it's essential for you to have a full understanding of it before we go to Dewsbury."

"I don't know how to. If only seems to happen when someone else is in danger. Someone I care about."

"I believe the dragon is much more than anger. I believe you can harness its powers and do marvelous things."

"We don't even know that. We know nothing."

"That's why it is essential to understand. To learn." Galen rubbed their finger along their dress.

"I have been working on something. I have been looking for a spell or potion that can connect you to the dragon who gave you your powers. I figure there must be a connection if that is his scales. There must be a way to communicate."

"I don't know, he wasn't easy to find. He actually found me."

"I am sure he could sense something special about you. Dragons are not known to save people in the Calkhorn desert. Anyway, I haven't made much progress as I'd like. I really think you should consider staying and focusing on controlling it."

"We don't have another option. Vendov is going to break down the doors of Dewsbury at any time. I'm sorry Galen, but I'm going."